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Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld smiled as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace looked on during a town hall meeting at the Pentagon on Dec. 15. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, a key architect behind the Iraq war during President Bush’s first term, has seen his once-dominant influence diminish, according to administration sources.
"Rumsfeld's authority has been cut to that of most secretaries of defense," an administration official said on the condition of anonymity. "If during the first term, he was the most powerful Pentagon chief since the Vietnam War, today his authority has been whittled while his responsibility remains the same."
Sources say Mr. Bush no longer relies on Mr. Rumsfeld for advice on Iraq. Instead, the president receives at least weekly briefings from U.S. commanders in Iraq and retains a team to provide him with military assessments independent of those of the Pentagon. Mr. Bush has also been conferring with scholars on Islam, including Bernard Lewis, the 88-year-old professor at Princeton University.
Much of the daily advice Mr. Bush receives on Iraq, however, comes from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. On Dec. 14, Mr. Bush granted Ms. Rice formal authority in planning reconstruction efforts in Iraq and other areas of the conflict. During Mr. Bush's first term, Mr. Rumsfeld was regarded as having the lead authority.
White House sources said that, despite their chilly personal relations, Mr. Bush intends to retain Mr. Rumsfeld at least through 2006.
Mr. Bush has concluded that Mr. Rumsfeld remains vital for the administration's strategy in Iraq. The sources said the president has determined that Mr. Rumsfeld has been highly effective in winning huge allocations from Congress to equip the U.S. and Iraqi militaries.
"The president needs Rumsfeld to conduct the war in Iraq, particularly in dealings with the defense industry and Congress," a White House source said. "There's no logical reason to change horses in mid-stream."
In an endorsement of his defense secretary, Mr. Bush brought Mr. Rumsfeld to a presidential address on Iraq at the Woodrow Wilson Center on Dec. 14. It was one of the few public appearances by the two men together in the latter half of 2005.
"I tell you, he's done a heck of a job, and I have no intention of changing him," Mr. Bush said.
The sources said Mr. Rumsfeld has won tremendous support from the U.S. defense industry, which has won huge contracts from the war in Iraq. They also credit the defense secretary, a former House representative in the 1970s, with persuading Congress to approve hundreds of billions of dollars for the U.S. military presence in Iraq.
"Rumsfeld knows how to talk to Congress and use the lobbying power of the defense industry," a source said. "At this point, no successor would have the power to keep the money flowing."
The defense secretary has approved plans for the start of a U.S. troop reduction in Iraq over the next two weeks. The plans envision a slow withdrawal in early 2006; with a troop pullout acceleration by June 2006 should the Iraqi military demonstrate its capability to take over security responsibilities for large portions of the country.
Mr. Rumsfeld has also been drafting a request from Congress for between $80 and $100 billion for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon has already asked Congress for $50 billion for operations in Iraq for early 2006. So far, Congress has approved $400 billion for the two military campaigns.
The secretary also plans to demonstrate to Congress increased Pentagon efforts to save on manpower costs, which could reach $111 billion in fiscal 2007. He intends to release over the next month a plan to restructure and streamline the military that would free up funding for weapons procurement, planned for $147 billion for 2006. The plan would make the greatest cuts in the air force. | 
